The next morning, the wind and snow continued.
Zhu Ping'an got up early and practiced calligraphy on a black wooden board on the table by the window. After other people in the inn gradually got up, Zhu Ping'an put away the black wooden board, put the brush and other things into his schoolbag one by one, tidied up the bed and his things, and went downstairs with two oil cakes made by Chen.
In the lobby of the inn, Zhu Ping'an ordered a bowl of mutton soup like he did last night, and ate it with the fried cake.
"Excuse me, but which direction is the official road heading north?"
After Zhu Ping'an had his breakfast, he bowed to the shopkeeper and asked for directions when paying the bill.
"No, no, there are two official roads heading north in this town. Which one are you going, sir?" The shopkeeper said in a amiable manner.
"Go to the capital." Zhu Ping'an replied.
"If you're going to the capital, then go in this direction. After passing Peacock Terrace, there's an official road that leads directly to Luzhou Prefecture. There are many roads leading to the capital from there." The shopkeeper led Zhu Ping'an to the door, pointed in a direction and told Zhu Ping'an the route.
Luzhou Prefecture is the modern Hefei. Since ancient times, Hefei has been a battleground for military strategists. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei and Eastern Wu fought for decades in Hefei. In the Song Dynasty, it was Luzhou. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Hefei was the frontier of the anti-Jin war. It is also a good idea to go to the capital via Hefei, so that you can see what this battleground for military strategists was like in ancient times.
"Thank you, shopkeeper." Zhu Ping'an bowed to thank the shopkeeper.
After asking for directions, Zhu Ping'an informed the shop assistant to check out and pack up his things. The shop assistant helped to take the things to the backyard and put them on the back of the well-fed black horse. Before getting on the horse, Zhu Ping'an took out a rabbit fur long-collared cloak from his bag and put it on.
This cloak was specially made for me by my mother Chen to keep me warm and windproof on the road. The rabbit fur was made from the tanned rabbit skins that my eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan collected in the mountains.
"It's snowing today. You might as well stay for a day until the snow stops." The amiable shopkeeper advised at the door.
"Thank you, shopkeeper. It's not cold now that it's snowing, so it's a good time to travel." Zhu Ping'an got on his horse and bowed slightly to thank the shopkeeper. Then he drove the horse along the route the shopkeeper had pointed out.
The town was not big. After riding for about ten minutes, we saw the Peacock Terrace that the shopkeeper had mentioned.
I originally thought that the Peacock Terrace owned by the shopkeeper was just the name of a mound, but I didn't expect that the Peacock Terrace was so magnificent. The Peacock Terrace is in the shape of a "convex" character, covering an area of about 100 square meters. It is a two-story structure, with a wide empty platform on the upper floor, a corridor-style roof, flying eaves and corners, and brackets on each floor. It is magnificent with carved beams and painted buildings.
How could there be such a building in a small town? Zhu Ping'an was curious and drove his horse closer.
"The peacock flies southeast, and pauses every five miles..."
Engraved on the stone wall window of the corridor in front of the Peacock Terrace is an article called "The Peacock Flies Southeast". The handwriting is excellent and full of a sense of sadness.
Uh, I remember.
Xiaoshi Town, Huaining County, the Peacock Flies Southeast, yes. This is the birthplace of "The Peacock Flies Southeast", which is known as the "twin gems of Yuefu" together with "The Ballad of Mulan" in the Northern Dynasties, and it is also the place where Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi were buried together.
I have been in Huaining County for so long that I actually forgot about such a place. Fortunately, I passed by here on my way to take the exam. It is true that reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles.
During the Jian'an period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the talented and beautiful Liu Lanzhi and the Lujiang minor official Jiao Zhongqing fell in love. However, her mother-in-law Jiao made things difficult for Liu Lanzhi for various reasons. Lanzhi resolutely asked to go home, and Zhongqing's plea to her mother was in vain. The couple had to say goodbye and both "swore to never let each other down".
Lanzhi returned to her parents' home. Proposals came one after another. First, the county magistrate proposed marriage for his son, and then the governor sent the prime minister to act as a matchmaker. Lanzhi refused because she had an appointment with Zhongqing. However, her brother spoke harshly to her. Lanzhi had no choice but to agree to the governor's marriage. Zhongqing heard about the change and rushed over. The couple agreed to "be a pair of wings in the sky and a pair of branches on the ground". On the happy day of Lanzhi's wedding, Liu and Jiao both died, becoming a masterpiece of all ages.
If it were me, I would never let this tragedy happen.
After paying respects at the Peacock Terrace for a long time, Zhu Ping'an sighed and drove his horse away from the Peacock Terrace, heading north along the official road.
The official road after snow is much easier to travel than the one after rain. The Shamatte black horse seems to ignore the cold wind and keeps its head held high as it gallops forward in the wind and snow. Perhaps it feels that the official road is easier to travel than the mountain road.
Walking north along the official road, we could see the shadows of villages on both sides of the road from time to time, unlike yesterday when we walked for most of the day without seeing a single house.
It was almost noon when Zhu Ping'an got off the official road and went to a small village near the road.
The north wind was very strong, blowing the floating snow on the ground from the wild into the village, and then blowing it out from the village paths. Then, it piled up calf-high snow under the walls, under the firewood piles outside the walls, and in all the leeward places.
The gullies on both sides of the road were filled with snow and were as flat as the road. If it were not for the scorched yellow tips of wormwood sticking out from the snow on the roadside, making a hissing sound in the wind, Zhu Ping'an would not have been able to tell which was the road and which was the ditch.
A group of chickens in the village, led by a few roosters, gathered under a pile of firewood straw and leisurely looked for food. A few bored roosters were pecking at each other for the ownership of a hen, flapping their wings and making crackling noises that made the snow fly everywhere.
On a flat ground at the entrance of the village, a few naughty children set up a basket on the snow, scattered some chaff underneath, and lay on the side with their butts sticking up, waiting to catch sparrows.
Seeing Zhu Ping'an coming on horseback, the sparrows were startled and flew away, causing a few naughty children to sniff their noses and look at Zhu Ping'an with unfriendly faces.
"I opened this mountain and planted this tree. If you want to pass this way, you must leave money for the passage."
A little brat with snot bubbles hanging from his nose stood in front of Zhu Ping'an with his hands on his hips, looking up arrogantly. Then several other brats stood behind the brat who stood out, backing him up, and looked at Zhu Ping'an with unfriendly faces.
Looking at those naughty kids with snot bubbles hanging from their noses, Zhu Pingan slightly curled the corners of his lips.
"I am a bird demon under the command of the Snow Demon. When I heard that you were plotting to murder my men, I transformed into a human form and came here to investigate. I didn't expect to be caught by me. Tsk tsk, I heard that children's meat is the most delicious."
Zhu Ping'an rode on the horse, took a deep breath in the direction of the children, and then licked his tongue as if he was intoxicated.
"A monster."
When the naughty kids heard this, they looked at Zhu Ping'an, who looked like he wanted to eat meat, and then they yelled and ran away.
"Uh, I was just kidding you guys."
Looking at the naughty kids running away, Zhu Pingan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. These naughty kids were too naive.
"I won't be fooled by you!"
"Don't chase us, we have boy's urine."
Upon hearing this, the naughty kids made faces at Zhu Pingan and ran even faster, disappearing in the blink of an eye. (To be continued.)